Previews

Fight Night Round 3

Since the world of boxing is full of grandiose figures and fighters whose personalities occasionally eclipse their talents, it's not surprising that the sport's history is full of memorable rivalries. Although you could make Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier fight in the previous games, there was no way to convey the hate and rage that fueled their real-life battles. Now, the game's Career Mode will put more of an emphasis on these wonderfully abusive relationships, to the extent that you'll even be able to take part in a brawl during a weigh-in. There will also be some new fighters added to the roster, and fans of Marvelous Marvin Hagler (the Pride of Brockton, MA) will finally be able to use their glove to wipe that smug look off of Sugar Ray Leonard's face.

Not surprisingly, one place where the Xbox 360 version of Round 3 distances itself from its current-gen peers is in the presentation department. While the Xbox and PS2 versions of the game feature a fairly standard HUD, the Xbox 360 iteration relies on visual cues to let the player know when he's hurting. Your fighter's eyes will roll around a bit and he'll begin to breathe heavily, letting you know that you'd better retreat before you end up on the canvas. All of the games feature the same corner man mechanic seen in the previous title, as well as a new ESPN Classic

The game looks amazing on the Xbox 360, from the streams of blood coming from the fighters' mouths to the sweat glistening on their backs. The venues and crowds look fantastic, too, and they'll react much more realistically throughout the fight. For the most part, the graphics in the current-gen versions of Round 3 are the same as they were in the previous game, although we did notice a few seemingly new flourishes, such as sweat flying off a freshly punched face.

From the new emphasis on rivalries all the way to the Impact Punches, there's no doubt that Fight Night Round 3 is going to make a lot of boxing fans happy. This is closest that many of us will ever come to tying on some gloves and stepping into a ring, and the game's action is more brutal than anything we've ever seen in a boxing title. Although there's still plenty of work to do (especially when it comes to balancing the power punches), this already appears to be one of 2006's must-have sports games.